Page 18 of Secrets in Love
Maybe I am a boyfriend guy.
Maybe Polly can fix me.
When I finally vacated her bed around eight Sunday night, I could hardly walk. Every muscle in my body was screaming for relief. My lips—hers too—were raw and swollen, but none of that stopped Miss Hart from laying a mighty fine farewell kiss upon them. “Nate. I work every night this week, but I don’t start till eight on Wednesday. Will you come over for dinner again? I’ll even feed you your favorite.”
“My favorite? When did I tell you my favorite meal?”
Polly pulled me in close and licked the shell of my ear. “You didn’t. But after the way you ate me out last night, I’m taking a wild guess that it’s now my pussy.”
“Fuck, Polly.” I rubbed my hand over my rapidly growing stubble. “You are something, aren’t you?”
“Oh, Nate,” she laughed, giving me a quick kiss, and then pushing me out onto the curb. “You’ve got no idea.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket as I walked to my car. My stomach twisted.Please don’t let it be her.
Evie: Hey, Natey. It’s six am, and I’m wide awake. Iris and Jocie are still asleep. I was thinking of taking a walk to the river. Wanna Facetime-walk with me?
Fuck.
Evie
Why did I ask him to Facetime?
Waiting for Nate to get home and call me back gave me a good twenty minutes to fill. After pacing myself dizzy, I put on some tunes and hit the shower. Unnecessarily rough exfoliation became a diversionary tactic, leaving me with little time to worry, and the smoothest, albeit red-as-a-lobster skin in town. But once that was done, I was back to shitting myself. Logically, I knew the hubbub was ridiculous. It wasn’t like we would be sexting.Oh…I wonder if he’s done that? Hang on,it’s Nate. Of course he has.
After dressing, braiding my hair, pacing some more, and imagining just how dirty Nate’s sexting would be, I could wait no more. An immediate change of scenery was required. I jumped up, pulled on my hiking boots, grabbed my AirPods, puffer jacket, and beanie, and was just about to leave my room when my phone rang.
Borderline hysteria followed.Shit! Shit! Be cool, dickhead. Be cool.
I was the opposite of cool. Well, not the opposite because that would be hot, and I sure as fuck wasnothot. I’d be lucky to be considered lukewarm. And it wasn’t like this was an unknown scenario. This was Nate. He and Iris had Facetimed often since we’d arrived, but this felt different. Normally, like most times in my life, I was like a stagehand or an extra floating around in the background, not the on-screen leading lady.
You can do this, Evie. It’s just the boy from next door with smelly hair and a goofy grin.
“Natey, hang on a sec, everyone is still asleep. I’m just going to head outside.” I held the phone to my chest and rushed as quietly as I could downstairs while giggling at his commentary.
“Geez, Lil Gidge. How big is that bloody house? I’m guessing Jocie picked it and not you?”
The door clicked behind me. I faked the best smile I could and faced the music. To say Nate’s appearance was a shock to the system would have been a massive understatement. The possibly freshly showered man was shirtless in bed with a white sheet sitting just below the waistband of his briefs, perfectly complementing his tanned, almost dewy-looking abs. Stunning. I hushed my long-dormant libido and bitched out, “It’s a frivolous waste of money, Nate. Of course she did. The upstairs has its own zip code. Oh, and hi again.”
Pain sliced through his face, and my shy, very un-me greeting was ignored. “Zip code? You mean postcode, right? You forgot the time here the other day, and now this. You sound like a real Yank, little one. I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit.”
Grateful for the distraction from his gorgeous face and torso, I joined in his outrage. “I know! I asked Iris if she wanted some candy yesterday, then instantly slapped my own face and corrected it to lollies. I was utterly disgusted with myself. But I guess the real test would be if I was underwear shopping and asked for a thong instead of a G-string. I’m a lost cause if that happens.”
I could have pole-vaulted over Nate’s raised eyebrows. “G-strings, eh? You like to wear those, do you? So, it’s not the granny knickers 24/7, then?”
“Okay. I am hanging up now.” Again, I dropped the phone to my chest to hide my shame.
“No, no,” he laughed, “please, at least answer this very serious question first… Is my face between your boobs right now? ‘Cause motorboating is a particular favorite of mine, and I’m beginning to feel a little warm and fuzzy.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Nate!” Back on camera, I did my best not to laugh. “Good God. What if Iris was beside me?”
“Is she beside you?” He laughed, causing an unfamiliar ache in my chest.
My reply, “No. We’re all alone,” came out all deep and raspy. Nate’s breathing caught, and I couldn’t blame him. Hell, even I thought I sounded sexy.
“Well, there’s nothing to worry about, then, right?” A throaty chuckle shook his shoulders, and a lock of damp hair that had been swept back off his faceroguishly fell into his eyes. It was obscenely hot. “So, leaving the boob question for later, how is my number-one girl doing?”
For several heartbeats, I just stared at the screen. At the rogue curl being all sexy. Unable to think, breathe, or speak.“Gidge, you still there? Has the internet dropped out, or are you that cold you’ve frozen? I asked how my number-one girl is?”
